My Journey Through Middle Earth
by kitcat12
Summary: This tells the story of how I got sucked into Middle Earth and get talked into going on a journey with 13 dwarves, a hobbit, and a wizard. This is set in April of 2012 before the Hobbit movie came out. There is no romance in this story.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Aimee sat on the front porch at her Mom's house. She smiled as she felt the sun kiss her cheek. She was currently reading one of her favorite books and listening to a song on her I phone. The book was called The Hobbit. She turned the page and placed her fingers on the Braille dots. When she got to the end of the line, she couldn't move her fingers to the next one. They were glued to the page. With a bolt of panic, she felt herself lurch forward and the feeling of falling. She landed on the soft grass with a muffled thump.

She was amazed to find that she still held the book in her hand. She dropped it in relief. Picking the book up, she decided to start walking. She began to panic when she didn't hear any of the familiar sounds of where she lived. Her heart began to thump in her chest.

"Madam, are you lost?" A voice asked from behind her, making her jump.

"I'm sorry to startle you Miss, my name is Bilbo Baggins. Can I help you?" Aimee's heart nearly stopped when she heard that name. She let out a snort of laughter.

"Yeah, and I'm Janet Jackson. I don't know what you want with me but I would like to go home now if you don't mind." The hobbit spluttered at this. His voice grew sharp with his annoyance.

"Why on earth would I lie about my own name?"

"Maybe this is a ploy for you to lure me into your house so you can have your way with me. Now, if you would please, let me go home, I am sure that my family is quite worried about me. They have probably filled out a missing persons report with the police." Bilbo looked hard at her.

"I would never harm a lady, the very idea of it."

"If you are Bilbo Baggins, let me feel of your feet." Aimee allowed herself a smile at her plan.

"Very well, if it will make you believe me that I am who I say I am." He sat down on the grass and held out his foot for her to inspect.

"You will have to tell me where you are, I am blind." Bilbo gave a start at this.

"I am to your left." Aimee turned in that direction.

"My foot is right in front of you," she reached out her hand and felt her hand come in contact with the foot. She was startled to find hair growing out of it and to find that the skin was as hard as leather.

"This isn't possible. Aimee breathed as she got to her feet.

"Middle earth isn't supposed to be real."

"Pardon me?" Bilbo asked her.

"My name is Aimee Hart." The woman said, throwing caution to the wind.

"I am 23 years old, I live in Oklahoma." Bilbo grew confused at this.

"I have never heard of this Oklahoma. Is it in Bree?"

"No, it is in the United States of America on planet earth."

"Oh dear." Bilbo said, becoming quite alarmed.

"I'm afraid you are indeed lost. I believe that I have never heard of The United states of America. You are currently in the Shire standing outside of my house." Aimee was shocked to hear this news.

"Middle Earth is not a part of my world. There is no such place where I come from."

"Oh dear, you are in quite a pickle. Why don't you come in and have a cup of tea. We can try and sort this out." Aimee hesitated for a moment. Bilbo guessed her hesitation and knelt down in front of her.

"I swear to you that I will not hurt you. A proper Gentle Hobbit does not harm a lady." He gently took her hand.

"Believe me, I am no lady. I cuss like a sailor." Aimee said as they entered the hobbit whole.

Bilbo pulled out her chair and guided the woman into it.

"I shall be back with your tea." He went to the kitchen to put the kettle on, Aimee could hear him muttering to himself.

"First Gandalf, now this strange woman. What on earth could happen next?"

Little did the hobbit know, it was going to be the start of a life changing adventure.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A/n" To my guest reviewer.

Small world isn't it. There is not going to be any romance in this story. It is a friendship story, the character is me, so there is no way in hell I would fall in love with any of the company. DO not worry though, I will not become a Mary sue with god like powers. I am also not going to have some silly family history either. It is just plain old me.

Bilbo came into the room a few minutes later, with a pot of tea in hand.

"DO you take cream and sugar?" The hobbit asked as he set a saucer with a teacup down in front of her.

"Two sugars and a whole lot of milk." Aimee answered as he poured the tea into her cup. He added the requested engredances and set the cup in front of her. She took a sip just as the doorbell rang.

"I am expecting company today, I will be right back. Can I get you a scone or a seedcake?"

"I'd like a seedcake please." Aimee sipped her tea while Bilbo went to answer the door. Aimee took a bite of the cake as she heard the door open and a gruff voice.

"Dwalin, at your service." Bilbo soon came back with the dwarf trailing behind him.

"This is very good, do you have anymore?" Aimee asked as she took a sip of tea.

"Yes there is." The hobbit went to the pantry as the dwarf sat down across from her. He gave the woman a suspicious look.

"Who are you?" He asked gruffly.

"My name is Aimee." Dwalin frowned at the name.

"You have a strange name. Where are you from?" Aimee sighed at this.

"It is a rather complicated story. I would rather wait to tell you."

"Very well, you do not have to say anything for now." They heard Bilbo scuttling into the room; he had a platter of cakes along with a second cup and saucer for the tattooed dwarf.

"Do you need help with anything?" Aimee asked the hobbit.

"Certainly not. You are my guest." The doorbell rang for a second time.

"Balin, at your service."

"Good evening." Bilbo replied.

"Yes, yes it is, though it might rain later. Am I late?"

"Late? Late for what?" Bilbo asked feeling quite confused. Balin gave a loud yell as he spotted his brother. The brothers began to talk as Bilbo went back into the dining room.

Balin and Dwalin banged their heads together; Aimee jumped, startled at the noise and dropped the teacup witch shattered onto the ground.

"Oh no, I'm sorry." Bilbo hurried over with a rag to pick up the broken china.

"That was my Mother's teacup." Bilbo said as he scooped up the china. Bilbo came back in with another teacup.

"Here you go, mind you do not break this one." Bilbo's voice was sharp with annoyance. He stumped off to answer the door while Aimee slumped over her teacup.

Balin and Dwalin were busy moving a table into the hallway as Fili and Kili entered the hobbit whole. Bilbo was at his breaking point as the four dwarves began to move the table into the hallway.

"There is nobody home!" He yelled as the door rang again.

"Go away and bother somebody else! There are far too many dwarves in my dining room as it is. If this is some block head's idea of a joke, it is in very poor taste." Bilbo's voice grew cold as he yanked open the door... There was a loud thump and various explanations as the dwarves scrambled to their feet. Kayoss soon reigned throughout the hobbit whole. Aimee was soon forgotten.

Gandalf saw her however and went over to her. He was about to ask her something when the dwarves began to toss dishes back and forth while they sang a tune. Gandalf wasn't quick enough however; one of the plates broke over Aimee's head just as the song was ending. Bilbo was outraged at this.

"That was my Mother's best plate!" He yelled at the dwarf that threw it. Aimee's eyes filled with tears at these words. This was not the kind and gentle Bilbo from the book. Oin quickly came forward to inspect the wound while Gandalf was about to yell at the dwarf and Bilbo.

Balin went with Oin to check the woman over as a loud knock was heard at the door.

"He is here." Gandalf said as he rose to let the new/comer in. Unluckily, there was some glass that needed to be pulled out of her forehead. It was also lucky that it wasn't too deep.

"I am going to kill Kili." Oin hissed as he inspected the wound.

"What are you going to do?" Aimee asked them.

"The reason I'm asking is because I am blind and I like to know what is going to happen to me before I get healed from something."

"There is some glass in your head that needs to be pulled out. It will hurt a bit."Balin began rubbing her shoulders as Oin began to pull out the glass. She let out a moan of pain as he pulled out the final piece. A tear slid down her face.

"I need to clean the wound." He cleaned the wound and put a bandage over it. Balin was pulling the glass out of her hair.

"I'm sorry; I just have a low pain tolerance." Balin smiled at her and wiped the tears from her face.

"Don't worry about it lass, I couldn't imagine what it would be like not able to see what is going on." The dwarf put his arm around her and led her back to the dining room where the company was gathered. She was guided into a seat next to Thorin.

"Are you hungry?" Balin asked her.

"Is there anything that doesn't have any meat?"

"No wonder you're so skinny, you look like the slightest breeze could blow you over." Thorin said to her.

"What kind of person doesn't eat meat?" Dwalin asked horrified. Balin soon came back with a plate of vegetables with some bread and cheese. He watched her scarf down the food.

"I have something to tell everyone." Aimee said after she had eaten her fill.

"I don't know where to begin."

"Just start from the beginning lass." Balin said to her. Taking a breath, she began her tale. The rest of the room listened in stunned disbelief.

Gandalf was looking into her eyes.

"May I see this book?" The wizard asked her.

"You will not be able to read it." Aimee said as she handed it to him.

"Very strange." The wizard said as he opened it. All he could see were tiny dots running across the page.

"Can you read a couple of lines for us?"

"All right." Gandalf handed her the book. The room watched as she put her fingers over the bumps and began to move them she read until the beginning of the party.

"How can you tell what is on the page?" Bofur asked her. Thorin had a more pressing question.

"How do I know that you are not making this up?"

"That is a fare question." Aimee said to him.

"How about I read your description and one of your company can tell me how accurate the book is."

"Very well, go on then." Balin was amazed as she read out the dwarf king's description.

"That is the correct description. He looks exactly how you described him." She went on to read the different instruments that the dwarves owned. Thorin was shocked at the accuracy of this.

I would like to have a word with you." The dwarf said to her. She took his arm and was led from the room.

"There are three steps." Thorin said as he opened the door. They sat down on the bench and were silent for a minute.

"Look, I don't blame you if you do not believe me. Hell, I'm here and I'm still trying to rap my head around it"

Thorin looked at her for a moment. He felt a kinship with the woman. They had both been taken from their homes against their will. The woman beside him would have a lot to learn.

"What am I going to do?" Aimee asked, her voice rising in panic.

I do not know how your money system works, I don't have a place to live, and I will not be able to find much employment to support myself. The only thing I can really do is sing." Thorin sighed and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked like she was about to cry.

"I'm afraid that for the time being, you will have to journey with us." Aimee did not like the sound of this. She was a person who preferred reading books and staying indoors.

"I don't know about this Thorin, I'm a blind woman, I would just be a burden and in your way. I cannot sew clothes or cook over a campfire."

"Worry not, we have a chef and a knitter in the company, there will be 14 armed men who will not hesitate to defend you at need. Women are rare in dwarven society. I like this no more than you do but it is the only option we have available for us at the moment." Aimee nodded her head at this.

"All right then, I will join you."

"Thorin is right." Balin sat down on Aimee's other side.

"You have no cause to worry. I can help you learn what you need to know. Come, I shall introduce you to the company.

Balin and Aimee got up from the bench.

'I shall join you in a moment." Thorin said, taking out his pipe.

"I need to think."

"I do not think she is trustworthy!" These words greeted them as they entered the whole.

"Which is why she should accompany us. To make sure she holds her tongue!" Dwalin was glaring at Gloin. Balin raised his hand for silence.

"It has been decided that she shall journey with us." There were yells of outrage at this.

"We are not bringing a woman with us. She will bring us bad luck."

"You've got to be kidding me," Aimee muttered as she put her hand to her head.

"Are you all right lass?" Balin asked, looking concerned.

"I've just got a headache. I need to go to bed."

"You need to sign the contract first."

"I don't sign anything until I have read it."

"Let us go over it then." He led her to a corner and began to read the contract, explaining the details so that she could understand it.

"Do you have any questions?" Balin asked, handing her a pen.

"No I do not."

"Then you need to sign here, at the bottom." Balin said, putting her finger on where she needed to write. She scribbled her name and handed him the contract along with the pen. Bilbo showed her to a room where she quickly fell asleep, fully clothed on the bed.

A/n: what would you say dwarven money is like? Do you think that the coins would be different like our coins are? I have never gotten glass pulled from a wound so I do not know how painful it is.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Aimee's eyes opened to the blazing sun. She sat up quite confused for a moment in the unfamiliar bed. Then it all came rushing back to her.

"Holey shit, I hope I'm not late." She threw open the door and began running down the hall. She ran smack into a figure who caught her before she hit the ground.

"I was just about to wake you."

Balin said to her.

"IS everybody outside?"

"Yes they are. We need to get going. Thorin is ready to leave." Balin took her hand and they walked through the house and out the door.

"It's about time you woke up lass," Bofur said to her as they entered the yard.

Balin helped her onto his pony and got on behind her, slipping his arms around her and grabbing the reigns.

"I do not want you to fall."

"Have you ridden a horse before?" Balin asked as they left Bilbo's home behind them.

"No, but I had one when I was little. I called him Cookie Monster."

"What on Mahal's name is a Cookie Monster?" Thorin asked, riding beside them.

"He is a character off an educational show for small children called Sesame Street."

"What is television?" Dwalin asked.

"It is a box with moving picture and sound. They hire actors to play the characters; a camera crew records the voices and pictures. While cartoonists draw the pictures. It is called animation. There are also movies and shows that do not have animation. It is kind of hard to explain, but I will demonstrate with this." Aimee dug through her purse and took out her I phone.

"I will show you how to work this when we stop for the night."

"I think we can order you a quick breakfast once we get to the Green dragon." Balin said to her.

"After all, we need to wait on our burglar. Did you have a trade where you came from?"

"No, I was still figuring out what I wanted to do. I was considering getting a guide dog. I also wanted to start up a coffee shop. I also need daily living skills training. Now that I am here, I probably won't be able to do those things."

"Don't worry about it. We will help you with those skills. You should also not rule out the possibility of a shop." Balin said to her. They reached the Green Dragon an hour later.

Balin helped Aimee off the pony and led her inside the inn. The place was crowded with early morning customers. Aimee could smell tobacco smoke and hear the many conversations going on. Balin led her to the counter. Luckily, there wasn't a line.

"How can I help you this morning?" The hobbit behind the counter asked them as they approached.

"Do you have anything that doesn't have meat?" Aimee asked.

"We have a lovely cheese and mushroom pastry." The hobbit replied.

"I would like to have that and a cup of coffee please."

"Very well, I shall have that out in a moment. It shall be one silver coin please." Balin plucked a coin from his money bag and put it on the counter.

"Can I get you anything, sir?"

"No madam, this is just for the lady."

"I would like some sugar and cream with the coffee please."

"I shall bring it out with your order." The hobbit said to her.

Balin led her over to a table in the corner.

"I thought you would need a bit of breakfast. Our next meal will not be for a while yet."

"We will need to get you some proper traveling clothes and items in Bree. What you are wearing is not appropriate. It will get cold at night."

"I was born in Colorado which is a state in my world with a lot of mountains. My parents moved to Oklahoma because I was born too early and the mountain air was too thin for my lungs. I was born 1 pound and 7 ounces."

Balin was surprised at this.

"It is a miracle that you survived." Just then, her meal arrived and she began to eat.

"This is very good coffee, in my country, it is customary to leave a tip for your waiter."

"We also do that here." Balin said, putting two coins on the table.

"In my world, money is different. We do not use silver and gold."

"What do you use then?" Baling asked. Aimee took out her purse and opened it. She rummaged through it and took out some of her money and her card.

"This paper is called bills. I have them folded so I can tell what I am paying with. This straight one is 1 dollar. The one folded in half is five dollars, the one folded long ways is 10 dollars, and the one folded in half twice is 20 dollars." She handed him each bill as she introduced it.

"They need to make those different sizes," Balin said, a note of disapproval in his voice.

"Someone could easily take advantage of you and give you the wrong sum of money."

"I quite agree. This is American money. Different countries have different systems of money." Aimee took out four coins next and handed them to the dwarf.

"The big coin is called a quarter. The quarter is 25 cents." Balin took a good look at the coin and handed it back to her.

"This next coin is called a dime. It is 10 cents. The next two are a nickel and a penny. The nickel is 5 cents and the penny is 1 cent." She dug out some more money.

"Let us say that this meal was 4 dollars and 75 cents. What would you give me to pay for this meal? Remember, a quarter is 25 cents." Balin smiled and began counting out the money as he handed it to her.

"I would give you 4 dollar bills and 3 quarters."

"That is very good, let's give you another test. Let's say that Dwalin needed a new pipe. I do not know how much pipes are in your world, but let us say that it was 15 dollars and 80 cents, how much would you give me? Balin handed her three 5s. Two quarters, and three dimes.

"That is good, but it is a lot of change. You need to be able to pay quickly. I would suggest, a 10, a five, three quarters, and one nickel." Balin found and handed her the amount that she requested.

"What is that card for?" The dwarf asked as she put her money back into her purse.

"It is used in place of change. Each card has its own number, you type it into a machine called a computer and you swipe the card through the slot. The money is stored in a place called a bank. The card is used because it is much easier than carrying a whole lot of change around. You also get what is called a recete. They help you keep track of what you paid and when. They also help you return any item that might get broken or does not work." Balin was quite confused by all this information

"It all sounds quite complicated."

"It can be difficult at times."

"If you do not have a job, then how are you getting this money? You are not stealing it I hope." A teasing note entered the dwarf's voice at the final part. Aimee grinned at him.

"What if I am?" The woman asked, in a teasing manner. Balin laughed at this.

"You do not seem the type who would steal." Aimee was laughing also.

"No, I did not steal this money. I get it from the government because I am disabled. It is called SSI."

"That is rather useful." The dwarf said.

When she was done eating her pastry, they left the pub to see what the rest of the company was doing. It sounded like they were ready to go.

Balin helped her onto the pony just in time for her to hear Dori.

"Use a hobbit? Whose idea was it?"

"That's true enough." It was either Gloin or Nori; she wasn't familiar enough with their voices to tell them apart yet. Aimee was about to say something when a voice interrupted her.

"Wait! Wait!" It was Bilbo. He skidded to a halt beside her and Balin.

"I've signed it."The hobbit continued, giving the dwarf the contract. Balin took the contract and began to skim it.

"Everything appears to be in order. Welcome master Baggins to the company of Thorin Oakenshield." A cheer came up from some of the dwarves.

"Come on Nori, pay up."

"Give him a pony." Thorin said, Aimee could tell that he was not happy about having the hobbit along. Fili and Kili ignored the hobbit's protests and hoisted him onto the beast. The line began to move its way forward but Bilbo interrupted them.

"Wait, wait, stop."

"You have got to be kidding me," Aimee said.

"What on earth is the matter now?" Gandalf snapped, quite annoyed with the hobbit.

"I forgot my pocket handkerchief."

"Here use this." Aimee heard something land into the hobbit's hand.

"Move on." Thorin said to the company. They were about to start when Aimee interrupted this time.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Aimee yelled. Why did her damn period have to start now?

"I need to get off this pony."

"And why would that be if I may ask?" Thorin snapped at her.

"Because I need to take a fucking piss!. Is that all right with you your holiness!" Aimee screamed at him. She was not about to tell the company about her little problem.

"It can wait. We have tarried here long enough." Aimee really wanted to throw something at the dwarf. Balin decided to intervene before things got out of hand.

"Come on lass, I will take you." The dwarf said, helping her off the pony. As soon as they were out of site of the company, Aimee began to look through her purse.

"Great, just fucking brilliant."

"What is the matter?" Aimee did not want to tell Balin, but what choice did she have?

"I'm on my cycle and I don't have any supplies for it." Aimee was quite embarrassed by the whole situation.

Balin fought back his embarrassment.

"I have some cloths that you can use. I can barrow some from Dwalin." The dwarf found a pile of cloths and handed them to her.

"Thank you."

Thorin watched as Balin returned with the woman. She looked rather nervous as they approached him. She was running her hand through her hair and rocking from foot to foot.

"What do you want?" he asked gruffly. Balin sent him a warning look as the woman grew tense at his tone.

"I want to say sorry for what I said to you earlier. I should not have lost my temper."

"Pray don't Minchin it," the dwarf said more gently. Balin helped the woman onto the pony and they finally left.

They traveled throughout the day, eating meals when they could. Aimee took this time to observe the dwarves and how they interacted with each other. Aimee was very glad when evening finally came and she could get off the pony, her muscles were quite sore. She hoped that Oin could give her a massage later on.

Balin led her over to the fire so she could sit. Not long after that, Aimee began to smell dinner cooking. She was quite hungry. She waited for dinner to be done and listened to the company bustle around her, setting up camp. Sometime later, she felt a bowl of food being placed in her hand. She opened her mouth to thank the dwarf but he walked quickly away before she could say anything. She was a little hurt by this, she was wishing for some company. She ignored the feeling and began to eat the meaty stew. She supposed that her vegetarian diet would have to be put on hold as long as they traveled in the wild. A wave of loneliness hit her as the company swapped stories and sang songs as they ate, forgetting about the female in the group.

Her feelings of loneliness continued as they traveled. Each day she rode with a different dwarf, making her feel like a burden. The company didn't talk to her much, except when needed. It reminded her of the days back in school when she barely had any friends. Each evening, the same silent dwarf would give her some food and walk away before she could say anything and she would listen while the company swapped tales and sang songs as they ate.

Gandalf the Gray watched all of this with a frown. He decided that he would talk to the dwarves and Mr. Baggins if things didn't improve. Things did not improve the next day. He watched as the young woman stood near the fire, tears rolling down her face. That was the last straw for the wizard. As soon as she was asleep with his cloak around her, he gathered the dwarves and hobbit together.

"I am disappointed in all of you for how you are treating our newest company member. You dwarves pride yourselves on your hospitality. I am not seeing that at the moment.

This is a good opportunity to learn of a new world and its customs. I am most disappointed in you Bilbo Baggins. I expected better from a hobbit such as yourself. I believe that it is your watch, Balin is it not?" The dwarf nodded his head and went to find a good spot for keeping watch.

It was around 2 in the morning, Bofur sat on a rock, keeping an eye out for any danger. His ears picked up the sound of quiet weeping near buy. It was the female. She was sitting up with Gandalf's cloak around her and was crying into her hands. He hated seeing her so alone and shame washed over him for not welcoming her into the company and befriending her.

He got up and went over to her.

"Come and sit by me lass," he whispered to her. She got to her feet and was led to the rock he was sitting on.

"What is wrong lass?" Bofur asked her.

"I'm just homesick that's all." The woman replied, attempting a smile.

"Now I know there is more than that. Come now, tell me everything." Bofur said.

"I guess I am lonely and hurt that you are ignoring me. I mean, the dwarf who gives me food could at least sit by me and the rest of you don't really talk to me. I am afraid to ask for vegetarian meals because I don't want to be more of a burden than I all ready am, and I don't want to seem ungrateful. I just want to go home." Bofur put an arm around her shoulders as she continued to cry.

"Oh lass, I truly am sorry. We should have made you more welcome. It is not your fault that you are in this situation. Biffer didn't mean to ignore you, he thought that you might want some privacy, he cannot speak normally because he has an axe in his head from a battle that he was in. I will talk to him in the morning.

Bombur and I had no idea that you did not eat meat, we were in another part of the hobbit whole when you were talking. We can easily prepare some meals for you."

"But it will be extra work." Aimee said to the dwarf.

"Nonsense, we can just make you a portion without meat, we will use what vegetables we have. It will be no trouble at all." Bofur ran a hand through her hair.

"Please come to one of us if you need to talk. You are a member of this company and we stick together here all right?"

"All right." Aimee said, drying her tears.

"Now come, let us wake up Dwalin, it is his watch. Then we should try and get some sleep."

The next morning, Aimee was woken by Gandalf.

"Come and ride with me, I could use the company." Aimee smiled as the wizard helped her onto the horse.

"Thank you for the cloak, it was quite warm."

"You are quite welcome my dear," the wizard said with a smile.

"Let us scout ahead for a bit, I would like to have a word with you." They began to pick up speed but Thorin stopped them.

"Where do you two think you're going if I may ask?"

"We are going to look ahead for any danger."

"Why are you taking the woman? She cannot see, she will be of no help to you." Aimee was about to snap at the dwarf but Gandalf put a firm hand on her shoulder.

"I believe that she has a name. It would be respectful of you to use it. Your ignorance astounds me." Thorin bristled at these words.

"Do you dare call me ignorant?" The dwarf hissed, glaring at the wizard.

"I believe that I just did. Aimee may not be able to see, but she has other senses that make up for it. Maybe you and your men should think about using more of those than your sight alone." With those words, Gandalf spurred the horse into a gallop.

As soon as the wizard was sure that they were out of sight and hearing range of the dwarves, he slowed the horse down.

"It is nice to have some peace and quiet away from all those dwarves," Aimee said. Gandalf hummed his agreement. They rode for awhile in silence with the chirping of the birds and whistling of the wind for music.

"Shouldn't we be heading back?" Aimee asked after a couple of hours.

"I haven't heard anything suspicious."

"The dwarves will meet up with us. Thorin and I have been discussing our road. They will know where to find us. There is a stream we will eat at where they will meet us. This will give us time to talk." They reached the stream around 12 o'clock. Gandalf helped Aimee off the horse and led her to the stream. The horse found some grass not far from the stream and began to graze.

"I am not looking forward to summertime, I don't have any sun screen." Aimee said as she sat on the grass.

"What is sun screen?" Gandalf asked her, taking a bundle from his pack.

"It is a paste that you put on your skin to protect it from the sun's harmful rays. It helps against sunburn and getting skin cancer."

"Interesting, very interesting." They were silent for a bit longer but Aimee broke it.

"I don't understand how we can speak to each other, how I can speak to all of you. I don't know Westron and you don't know English. Do you think that whoever or whatever brought me here might have broken the language barrier or cast a spell to make us understand?"

"My guess is to be the former." Gandalf said.

"I have been pondering that book of yours that you read to us in Bilbo's home. The descriptions of the dwarf's appearance and the instruments that they play were remarkably accurate. I have come to the conclusion that the book tells of the quest we are in, am I right?"

"Yes you are." She hesitated for a moment.

"I know far into the future. I know about the one ring."

"Do not speak of it." Gandalf said sharply.

"This is indeed news. I bid you not to tell any of the company this information."

"I won't ." Aimee said to the wizard.

"We are going to stay in Rivendell for a time. I think it would be wisest that you stay there under Lord Elrond's protection. The knowledge you posses is quite dangerous. I am not asking this of you because I do not think you are trustworthy." Gandalf added as she was about to speak.

"I am asking this of you for your protection. You should tell Lord Elrond of your situation, he will not be able to send you home, but he will be a good person to take council with if you are ever burdened by what you know."

"All right, I will stay with the elves. I have always wanted to meet Lord Elrond and his folk. Do you think he will like me?" Gandalf laughed at this.

"My Dear, he would be a fool not to like you."

"I forgot to give this to you. Bilbo was kind enough to pack you some food for the journey." Gandalf handed her the bundle.

"He also gave you a bottle of wine." Gandalf poured her a glass and handed her some vegetables and a piece of seedcake. She took a bite as she heard the sound of the approaching company on their horses.

"Will you be well while I talk to Thorin?" Gandalf asked, getting to his feet.

"I'll be fine." Gandalf wasn't gone very long when she heard someone sit down beside her.

"How are you doing lass?"

"I'm doing quite well, how are you Balin? Do you want some seedcake and some wine? Bilbo gave some food to me for the journey."

"I'll have some seedcake. I am not a big fan of wine, I prefer ail." Aimee handed the dwarf some seedcake and took a sip of the sweet wine.

"I hear you have been rather lonely." Balin said, swallowing his seedcake.

"Just a bit," Aimee replied.

"I'm sorry I haven't been talking to you lately, I've just been talking plans with Thorin for our road. I did not intend to ignore you. We can spend the rest of the day together, if you would like."

"I would love that."Aimee said to the dwarf.

Aimee fell asleep that night after a big bowl of potato stew, quite happy that she and Balin were friends.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Disclaimer. I do not own the gecko commercial in this chapter.

A/n: from now on, I will be collaborating on this story with Adeleidhis. The author of the wonderful story, My home is gone but I will help get yours back. I think that is the name of that fic. Please read it and give her some reviews. Her character Alicia will appear in this fic. It is a crossover with that fanfic.

Please give her some words of encouragement when you read her chapters. She will be writing every other one. She will be writing chapter 5.

Kitcat12

The company traveled on.

Balin and Aimee quickly established a strong friendship. Aimee would talk to the other dwarves and enjoyed their company, but it was Balin's company that she enjoyed most. She loved his patient manner. It was demonstrated in the lesson they had that day.

"Now miss Aimee. When someone finds something of your wares that they want, but don't have the money for it, what's something you could do?"

"Well, we could barter or trade something."

"Yes very good." Balin said "now here's an example and you tell me if it is affair trade. You have a basket of fish I want, but don't have the money. I offer you a fur vest. What do you say?" [4:47:11 PM]

Aimee thought about this for a moment.

"Well, I could use the vest to keep warm."

"Aye you can, but if you are a fisher by trade, a vest would not be very useful to you now would it. Or if you have bought the fish yourself already and I am in need of them, then you can consider more thoughts of personal comfort." Balin explained.

"Well dang, I could have thought of that. It was quite obvious when you put it that way."

After Balin and Aimee finished their lesson for today, it was Fili and Kili's job to pass out the lunches. When Fili came to Aimee, he sat beside her.

"Hello Miss Aimee, how are your lessons going?"

Aimee smiled in his direction.

"Quite well thank you. This soup is good by the way."

Fili laughed beside her as he ate.

"Aye, Bombur is a good cook. I've been wondering something miss. I notice how you and Balin are becoming good friends and my brother and I were wondering... Are you and Balin courting now?"

Balin glared at the younger dwarf and slapped Aimee on the back to get rid of her sudden coughing fit.

"I sure as hell do not." Aimee snapped at the dwarf.

"I hope you never mention such a thing again." Kili was taken aback by her anger.

"I was only joking. I know you are not interested in Balin like that. He is far too old for you."

"Thank you for letting me know." Aimee said to the young dwarf.

"Now, will you kindly let me eat my lunch in peace? You have been grating on my nerves."

"Very well, I shall leave you in peace." Kili replied. She felt guilty for snapping at the dwarf. She decided that she would make it up to him the next day.

She decided that the lack of privacy was getting to her.

Aimee usually did not mind Fili and Kili's teasing. She was growing fond of the two dwarves, but romance was very personal to her and the thought of dating Balin made her disgusted. She only liked the dwarf as a good friend, maybe a best friend.

The dwarf noticed her putting her hand to her forehead.

"I'll have Oin get you some herb for that headache." He said, getting to his feet.

Thorin did not like this development with Balin and the woman. He thought that she was a distraction to the dwarf. He did not like her voicing her opinions about the quest or the root they should take.

Thorin believed that a woman's place was not in politics. He believed it should be left to the men/folk to decide. He also thought that it wasn't a woman's place to keep watch, especially her. He did not know what possessed Balin to let the woman take watch with him.

She was not able to see, so he wondered how she would alert any of the company to danger that came their way.

Thorin did not believe for one second that the woman did not have any feelings for Balin. She was trying to tempt him into bedding her. Thorin promised himself that he would put a stop to this foolishness.

He would also talk to his nephews and make them keep their distants from the woman. She was nothing but a temptress. It seemed her goal was to distract Balin and the rest of his men from the quest.

She might have charmed the rest of his men, but Thorin Oakenshield was made of stronger stuff. He would get rid of her as soon as he was able.

If only he could do the same for the hobbit.

Aimee was glad when they finally reached Bree. She was ready for a hot bath and a nice bed with warm blankets and a good pillow. She hated bathing in cold streams. It wasn't fun and relaxing like a nice hot bath was.

Gandalf took Aimee's hand and led her into The Prancing Pony. Butterber greeted them with a smile.

"I'm not doing anything until I get a nice, long, hot bath," Aimee declared.

"That shall come with your room, my lady. Follow me and I shall take you to it."

"You shall have to lead her." Gandalf said to the inn keeper.

"She cannot see." Butterber swallowed his many questions and led her to the room.

"One of the chamber maids shall assist you. Dinner will be on the table when you are done." He stuck his head out the door.

"Rose! This young lady needs your assistants!" Aimee heard the quick footsteps as the chamber maid named Rose entered the room.

"Draw the lady a hot bath and escort her to dinner." Butterber instructed.

"Yes sir," Rose replied, shutting the door behind the retreating figure.

"I shall draw your bath in the next room. It will take a few minutes." Aimee heard the hobbit in the next room. She was pouring water into a basin for washing. There was silence for a minute as she apparently grabbed another bucket of water and poured it in also. She then heard the hobbit stirring the water in the tub.

It seemed to her to be much faster than an electric faucet.

"Your bath is ready for you My Lady. Shall I pick out a dress for you for the evening meal?"

"I would love that." Aimee said as she was led into the bathing room.

"Stick your hand into the water and tell me if it needs to be heated or cooled." Aimee did as she was told.

"The water is perfect."

"That is good. I shall pick out your dress while you bathe." The water felt wonderful on her dirty skin. She heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Aimee asked.

"It is Rose. I need to bring you the soap."

"Come in." Aimee called. The door opened and she heard the footsteps of the hobbit. They were harder to hear because they didn't wear shoes and they naturally walked quietly.

She felt a bar of soap being pressed into her hand.

"There is a cloth for drying off by the basin." Aimee got out of the tub 15 minutes later and dried herself with the cloth.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting." Aimee said to the hobbit as she entered the bedroom.

"It is nothing. I am knitting a new dress for my little daughter. Did you enjoy your bath?"

"Yes I did."

"Very good, let me escort you to the evening meal. But first, one of your companions left you a gift." A bracelet was placed into her palm.

"I believe that the dwarf's name was Nori. Let me put it on your wrist. There, a perfect fit, and it looks lovely on you."

Nori smiled as Aimee entered with the pretty hobbit lass.

"That lady is wearing my bracelet!" A woman yelled, running up to them

"This dwarf Stoll it and ran off before I could demand payment." She pointed at Nori.

"I have to sale everything I can." The woman continued in a whisper to Aimee.

"My family has run into some bad luck, looking for work. This is my mother's bracelet. She died a year ago." Aimee was trying to unfascain the chain around her wrist.

"No, you keep it. This was not your idea to steal this. I am glad for you to have it."

"Thank you." Aimee said.

"It looks lovely on you. Keep it well." The woman got to her feet and disappeared through the door.

Aimee was guided to the table where the company sat. Her brows were furrowed in a deep frown. Bilbo noticed this.

"Miss Aimee. Is something wrong?" He asked across from her.

Aimee held up her hand to present the bracelet.

"That lady I just talked to. She said this bracelet was her mother's and it was stolen by Nori."

Suddenly Aimee heard a guffaw down the table. It was the familiar sound of astonishment that Dori would make.

"He did what?! Ugh! Leave it to my sticky fingered brother of mine to do something like that." He said angrily.

Nori shrugged his shoulders.

"Nobody seemed interested in the piece anyway. I just helped her get rid of it that's all."He took a swig of his ale.

Aimee stared in his direction.

"She said she was in a tight bind and had to sell off everything she could in order to pay for it." Aimee said to him, anger in her voice.

"What-? Why you heartless goblin!" Dori exclaimed. Suddenly sounds of fists and grunts could be heard across the table, along with a few more grumbled insults. Ori's timid voice stopped the brawl.

"But that lady doesn't mind Miss Aimee keeping the bracelet. Why don't we just give her the money for it before we leave?"

"Nori will pay her every single coin that she asks for." Dori growled, glaring at his brother.

"Is that clear?" Nori scowled at him but nodded his head. He would do anything for his younger brother.

When they left Bree, Aimee was riding with Bofur and listening to some music on her I Phone.

"What is that lass?" The hatted dwarf asked.

"This is called an I Phone. It is a device that lets you talk to different people from far away. It also does other things like play music. Do you want to hear a song?" Bofur's curiosity was peeked.

"Yes I would lass." Aimee adjusted the headphones to fit the hatted dwarf's head and put them on him. Not before she selected On the Road Again by Willie Nelson.

Bofur really liked the song and began to spout off questions.

"What language is I Phone? There are different types of music? Is it magic?" Aimee laughed at him.

"Slow down, I can't answer all your questions when you spout off like that."

"Sorry lass, I get carried away at times. This is just a fascinating device is all, I write my own music with my flute here."

"It is all right, how about this, I can let you mess with this and hear the music I have on it." She gave a demonstration of the voice over of the iphoen.

Bofur nearly fell off the horse when he heard the voice coming through the headphones.

"This is called voice over. It allows blind people to use the phone. You select an item and double tap it to activate it. Like this."

"I put a spell on you, by BB King, double tap to open." Bofur watched as she tapped on the song with a finger and it began to play.

For the rest of the day, she played song after song on the device. He had her repeat Hound Dog by Elvis. He began to sing in a horrible Elvis impression. Aimee nearly fell from the pony laughing when she heard it.

Balin stretched his limbs after sliding off the pony. When no one was looking he subtly felt his chest. His hand rested on a scar that should have been the end of him a long time ago. He very clearly remembered the feeling of his body fading away, his last thoughts of him wishing his brother or someone was there to see him off besides orc corpses. The spear and two arrows stuck out of him like a fork stuck in a slab of meat. Then he remembered the warm sensation that flood him next. Un-natural warmth that returned the life back to him. And the voice...

"Not yet kind Balin..." The dwarf opened his heavy eyes.

"You're not finished yet..." The voice said.

Snapping back to the present situation, the old dwarf unloaded his pony to give it a break and went to help set up the camp. He helped with gathering some firewood and helped Oin harvest some herbal plants that the medic simply couldn't pass up. When he was done, he quietly hummed an old dwarf tune as he watched the others set up camp, he heard Aimee start up her own tune a bit away from him. The two songs and languages were quite different from each other, but their voices blended together anyway.

Dwalin walked up to his brother as his song ended. He heard Aimee start up another one of her own.

"You and the woman seem to get along well."

Balin nodded absent mindedly, straining to hear her song.

It was something about respect. The song was in fact Respect by Aretha Franklin.

"Oh aye." He agreed. "She's a kind lassie."

"Perhaps too kind." The warrior grumbled in his beard.

Balin turned to his brother with a raised eyebrow.

"Come now. Just because she isn't a dwarf doesn't mean she's part of some second rate thief guild. Don't be so... racist... as humans call it."

Dwalin harrumphed indignantly.

"I am not being racist! If she were a dwarf I'd find it even more suspicious. Look at our burglar for instance. He is friendly but not overly friendly. He knows to respect other people's privacy and keeps a respectable relationship with everyone." Dwalin stepped closer to his older brother, eyes narrowing.

"That girl seems to have quite an interest in you specifically. Don't pretend you don't see it. We all do."

Balin gave his brother one of his own hard looks.

"What are you implying then brother?" He asked.

"I want you to just be more aware of her, actions and attitude towards you." Dwalin said with honest concern for his brother.

"The only people I've ever known who were so friendly so quick were ones who had darker intentions."

Balin took a deep breath and choked down his temper. He understood where Dwalin was coming from and couldn't be mad at him for caring about his brother. The older brother smiled kindly at his kin.

"Thank you for your concern. I wouldn't want to make you worry for me anymore than you already do. I shall keep a better eye out if it puts you more at ease."

Dwalin patted his brother's shoulder before leaving him to his thoughts again.

Balin sighed as he left. He would have to tell Aimee of their conversation. He figured that sooner would be better than later.

He was not looking forward to the conversation though. A sad look came over his face when he recalled the conversation that they had when she first joined him on watch.

"You do not have to tell me this if you do not want to lass, I am wondering why you didn't come to me or the rest of the company to tell us of your troubles? We could have helped you fit in."

"You were treating me like how I was treated in school. I barely had any friends and a lot of the girls were not nice to me."

"Did you tell any of the instructors? Surely they would have helped you."

"I tried once, they just politely asked them to be nicer to me, which didn't work. I also had trouble standing up for myself. So, I just tried to ignore it as best as I could. I just kept to myself."

Balin sighed as the camp began the rest of the day's journey. He was not going to like this at all. The dwarf only had to decide when he would have this talk with her.

He listened as Gloin began to speak.

The dwarf harrumphed irritably,

"Did you hear those two farmers before we left? They mentioned orcs and raiders in the area! We need to keep our guard up!"

"Raiders? What raiders?" Aimee asked curiously. Fili chuckled.

"oh just people who like to attack other people for their belongings like money or something. Don't worry my lady we won't let any of that happen to you!

"Well, thank you Fili. I appreciate that." Aimee said.

It was three nights later when he decided to talk to her.

He found her showing Dori some commercials that she had on that I Phone of her's.

"Could switching to Guiko really save you 15 percent or more on car insurance? Did the little Piggy cry We We We all the way home?" Dori began laughing when the pig began to squeal we.

"Guiko, 15 minutes could save you 15 or more."

"And that is how advertising works in our world." Aimee said to the chuckling dwarf.

Balin fought back his own laughter. The commercial was quite ridiculous.

"I would like to have a word with you lassie." Aimee noticed the serious tone in his voice.

"All right." Aimee got to her feet. They walked to a spot away from the company...

The dwarf took a deep breath when they were both sitting down and told her of the conversation he and his brother had. She could hear the anger in his voice. Aimee got up and began to pace back and forth.

"Great, just fucking brilliant. If any of you needed privacy, all you needed to do was ask me and I would have given it to you. What do you think we should do to help them trust me?"

"I have been thinking this through for the past few days. The only course of action I can think of is for us to part ways for the time being, unless you have any ideas of your own?" They were silent as she thought about this.

"Well, I can't think of anything else we could do. We should put our lessons on hold until this blows over."

"Aye, it would probably be best. You have been good company for me lass. I shall miss it."

"SO will I."

"Try not to be too angry at my brother; he only has my best interest at heart."

"I'll try, I have siblings myself." Balin took his leave of her for his watch.

He didn't miss the silent tears that were streaming down her face. It pained him to see them.

Aimee rode with Gandalf in back with Bilbo the next day. It was pouring rain. The weather matched her miserable mood.

She listened as Gandalf told Bilbo of the five wizards.

Balin was up front with his brother and Thorin.

"I have told her of our conversation." The dwarf said to him.

"We have decided to part ways for the time being. She wishes to give a good impression to you and Thorin." Dwalin didn't miss the sad look on his brother's face.

"I wish you would give her a chance. She really is a nice woman."

"It is best that you stay away from her." Dwalin said firmly.

"I do not want you to get hurt."

"She knows this; she has siblings of her own. She too is the youngest. I believe she has five older siblings. That is one thing that the two of you have in common."

"I still do not trust her." Dwalin sped up his pony to talk to Thorin, leaving his brother by himself.

Gandalf glared at the trees around him. He had just stormed away from the camp after the argument with Thorin.

His pride was really getting under his skin. Oh well, he needed to get some scouting done anyway and this was a good excuse to do it.

Little did he know, his night was about to get more hectic.

Back at camp, Bilbo was about to face three hungry trolls.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Gandalf harrumphed as he muttered to himself, not really caring if he sounded like a stubborn dwarf himself. Even a wizard needs time to rant and vent after all.

"Ram headed old fool." He muttered as he trudged forward.

"I'm a strong dwarf leader. I can show no weakness to anyone." The grey wizard said in his own imitation of Thorin.

"I'll just ask a wizard to join me and then completely ignore all his advice! Oh and never mind even THINKING of considering other options that could make our journey a little easier!"

He took advantage of the peace and quiet to calm his nerves. For a moment, he actually let himself relax enough given the current situation that he was in. That is until he heard the sudden sounds of swift feet on dead leaves, a hiss and thudding noise, and a quiet grunt somewhere up ahead in the bushes. He wasn't the most skilled trackers out there, but he wandered the world enough to be able to discern the sounds. It was too light-footed and voiceless to be one of the dwarves, maybe Ori, but he has no reason to be out here by himself. It was too aggressive sounding to be Bilbo. Maybe it was a forest predator that found its prey. Still, better safe than sorry.

Silently he took out his sword and held it ready along with his staff. He quietly approached the spot and strained his ears to hear anything else.

To his surprise, it was no predator, or at least it wasn't an animal. It was a woman. Gandalf stopped and held his breath as he watched the scene in front of him. The girl had a very slight similarity to the Easterlings, but she held no indication of hailing from that region. Gandalf saw what the hissing was from when he looked at her hands. Now being skinned, was a descent sized snake that could easily have been at least half her height in length. The head was chopped off and laid by her side while she quickly checked the body for ticks or anything and skillfully ripped out its organ and took a large bite. Snake blood oozed from her mouth as she did this. Gandalf started to reconsider that maybe it was an animal he found. She acted as if she hadn't eaten in days. The strange girl suddenly stopped her ravenous meal, sensing that she was not alone.

Had Gandalf not been on guard, he may not have seen a knife that came out of nowhere now flying at him. He also may not have expected the girl to rush him with a sword of her own. However, he did. He sidestepped the knife and sent the girl flying back with a spell of his own. The girl fell back unceremoniously, obviously not expecting that.

She looked up at him like he was a ghost and clambered to her feet.

"Hmm." Gandalf said, giving a similar look he gave Bilbo when he first showed up at his door. The woman picked up her sword but didn't attack. Instead she turned quickly and tried to flee. However Gandalf saw that coming too and raised his staff. The next thing the woman knew is that she was currently being held hostage by tree limbs and vines. " Hold on now young miss!" The wizard said as she tried to hack at them.

"There's no need to get violent. I did not come here to harm you."

She gave him a look that reminded the wizard of an irritated horse. It made him smirk.

"I was in the area searching for potential dangers and I find a lady eating a snake." He said as he eyed the blood dripping all over her bottom lip and chin. He also noticed her clothing were quite different than anything he'd seen before. In fact they seemed to have more similarities to Miss Aimee back at the camp.

"My name is Gandalf the Grey. Who are you and why are you out here by yourself?" He asked. The girl took a moment to answer, having to take a couple of deep breaths before.

" Alicia. I got lost." Was all she said.

"Mm-hm." Gandalf hummed. " And what are you doing out here to begin with?"

"Trying to get un-lost." She jerked her head towards the snake. " I also stopped for lunch." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"How are you doing this?"

"I am a wizard my dear. I'd be happy to release you if we come to an agreement not to hurt each other." Gandalf answered, leaning on his staff. Now she looked at him weirdly.

"A wizard?" Alicia repeated, as if it was hard to believe.

"Yes. A wizard. Now do we have an agreement or not?"

"Alright I guess." She answered. Gandalf called off the spell and she her shoulders.

"Where are you off to? Perhaps I can point you to the right way." Gandalf offered as she fetched her knife and dead snake.

"I'd appreciate it sir if you told me how to get to the nearest town from here. One that's still inhabited with live people that is." She said with a slight hint of humor. Though Gandalf had no idea what she was implying. Most towns usually are run by people that are alive.

" We are in the middle of two towns actually. It depends on what you are looking for in a town. There's Bree that way." He pointed.

" And then there's Rivendale that way. And both are run by people live people if that's what you're looking for.." Gandalf answered.

"Well, yes. I am looking for someone that is alive."

" Well here I am." Gandalf said.

Alicia looked blankly at him.

" I'm sorry, what?"

"You said you were looking for someone that is alive, well I am alive, now what do you need? Or perhaps you mean to say that you are looking for a specific person in which you hope they are still alive."

"Uh, yes." Alicia stuttered.

"Or do you simply mean that you want a lively town whether the people are lively or not." Gandalf suggested.

Alicia stared at him for a moment.

" That was complicated."

But before Alicia could ask another question, the sound of distant gravelly yells and three large figures in the dark trumping about drifted up to their ears. Gandalf sighed.

"Would you settle with meeting people from a town on their way to another town?"

She looked at him again.

"What? What's goin' on?"

He marched past her and strode quickly back the way he came.

" If you don't have anything better to do I would be very grateful if you came with me! I could use your aid and I will in turn aid you to the best of my abilities." He called over his shoulder. After a few long moments, Gandalf smiled when he finally heard the woman's footsteps closing in.

This time she had a strange rucksack on her back that had blobs of forest colors on it.

" Where are we going? Why do you need my help?" She asked.

"Some companions of mine are about to find themselves in a lot of trouble if we don't get to them in time." Gandalf cast a sideways glance at her.

"You wouldn't happen to know of a lady named Aimee Hart would you?"

"I'm sorry. The name doesn't ring a bell." Alicia answered.

"What about Oklahoma or the United States?"

She looked up at him.

" Of course. Oklahoma is the state just above Texas, where I'm from. Why? Is Oklahoma your home?

"Not mine but a friend of mine who we must get to before they are hurt." Gandalf said as they scuffled down the path, careful not to trip over anything in the dark. As they grew nearer, he heard the rumbling telltale signs of trolls in the forest.

He stopped to catch his breath a moment.

"You okay? I've got some water if you need." Alicia offered beside him. He waved the offer away though.

" Just old that's all. You will be faster than me no doubt. Please go ahead of me to that clearing there. You can see firelight from here. That's where my companions will be headed. They may be already fighting by the time you get there, but you must stall the trolls for as long as you can till I get there. Cause as much distraction as you can."

Alicia hesitated for a moment, giving him a hard and suspicious look. He thought he would have to argue with her to trust him, but to his relief, she rushed forward. But Gandalf still understood the muted warning none-the-less.

Alicia was still unsure about what was going on, but it would be inhumane to turn down a person in need and the world didn't need to be any less humane then it already is. So onward she went.

She stopped and ducked behind a bush when she heard a stampede coming. She barely made it in time before a group of strangely clad men came bulldozing by. The way they moved was strange too; she watched them lumber and hop around with their short limbs swinging everywhere, multiple types of weapons in their hands. She was about to come out when she heard two more voices coming up. There was a smaller guy in a purple cardigan holding the hand of another woman as he carefully picked a smoother path. Judging by the woman's movements, she was blind.

"Carefully miss Hart. There's a lot of roots here, but I think we avoided most of them." Said the smaller guy.

"What's happening? Are those new gravelly voices I'm hearing?" The woman asked as she trailed behind her friend.

"Um." He stuttered, not sure how to answer that. His eyes grew wide and Alicia followed his gaze. Then her face shared the same look of shock as his when she saw what must have been the 'trolls' Gandalf was referring to. The boy helped the woman to sit behind a tree in a relatively safe spot.

"Wait here Miss Hart." Said the boy. " I have to help my brothers, you'll be safe here."

"Ori wait!" Aimee yelled but it was too late, he pulled out a slingshot and ran to shoot a troll in the eye.

Alicia watched as the group of people fought the monster troll things, roaring and raging on, tossing weapons to each other and using their skills to fight.

She'd be lying to herself if she didn't admit that she was impressed.

Suddenly one of the trolls chased the little man into the woods, inadvertently finding the blind lady behind the tree. He grabbed her as well and she screamed bloody murder in his huge hand. The blood curdling put the fight to a halt for a brief moment as some covered their ears.

"Look wha' I found!" Said the troll, grinning viscously. " A female! They're always' the softest to eat!" The monster said.

"Why don't you go fuck a duck you mother's worst mistake!" The woman cursed as she struggled to breathe.

The survivor grimaced at the lady's choice of words.

"Aimee! Bilbo!" Some dark haired archer said, but he was held back by an older black haired guy with a long sword.

The second troll growled back, " Lay down your arms, or we'll rip theirs off!"

The survivor watched with bated breath to see what the group of people did next. Nobly, they laid down their arms. The monsters grinned victoriously and quickly captured the remaining fighters, tying them in bags or stripping their outer layers of clothes and tying them to a giant spit.

The little man from before didn't get the chance to free the ponies, but he seemed to have another idea while the three cronies argued about how to cook their prizes. It confused her as to why they were referred to as dwarves just because they were a little shorter. The shortest of them got up, trying to convince them that they were making a horrible mistake with the seasoning. When he mentioned skinning them, the men erupted into outrage, yelling things like, 'Traitor!', ' I want that hobbit!', ' I'll skin you when I get out of here!'

Apparently he had the same idea that Gandalf had told her to do. Maybe she won't have to do anything now.

She sighed when the other men didn't catch onto his bluff about parasites until that older black haired guy kicked them. Now Alicia was smirking about their preposterously oversized parasites each of them had.

However, the leader of the monsters began to catch onto the ploy, and they ignored the little man and discussed who was going to eat who.

Alicia snuck over to the pen still holding the horses and quickly went about cutting the ropes before the troll could smack the curly haired man into a tree. The ponies stampeded out, causing another distraction. One of the trolls did see Alicia and bent down to grab her.

" There's another one! Oh but look at it! I think this one is infected!" It yelled as it tried to swat Alicia away like a stray cat. It chased her into the woods until it lost her.

Alicia quickly made it back and kneeled next to the orange haired pompous man who was about to get eaten first. When he spotted her, his eyes widened like saucers and he began to sweat like crazy again.

" Ah! Don't cut me, don't eat me!" He mumbled.

A white haired old man next to him looked over and gave her a curious look as well. His eyes widened too.

"They're coming back! Look out!"

Alicia didn't need to be told twice, once again she was off into the woods. A rumbling sound behind her confirmed that she was being chased.

" I saw it too! It's trying to steal our food!" Another said.

" Spread out! I want it found before dawn!" The leader said.

Carefully she crept forth again, listening to the other lady's whispered panic attack. A man with long grey hair next to her was trying to comfort her. She looked to be hyperventilating.

' What's going on? Why can't I hear everyone else? Are they..?" She whimpered.

" No lady Aimee." The grey haired man said. " They're still there, no one's been eaten yet. The trolls have scattered." He looked over to Alicia as she began to cut away the bag that held the older black haired man captive. " I think we might have found some extra help. Don't you worry now miss."

As for the man Alicia was trying to free, he watched her with suspicious eyes. " Who are you?" he growled, but Alicia had no chance to answer. The monsters came back and lunged for her. She thrust a dagger she snatched in the pile of weapons into the man's free hand. This time she couldn't run back into the woods, she ran through the camp, trying not to get captured.

Suddenly Gandalf appeared on top of a rock. " The dawn take you all!"

He yelled and broke the rock with a slam of his staff. Alicia would have to ask about how he did that later. To her shock, the monsters began to turn to stone!

She stood there in shock until the crowd let out whoops of victory as Gandalf came down to the camp.

" Very well done Miss Alicia." Gandalf said as he walked up to her. " Thank you for your help. If you wouldn't mind helping the others get down off that spit please." With a few waves of his staff again, the fire was put out to nothing more than coals and ash. As the old man went to tend to the group in bags, she clambered up one of the poles to the spit. The first man she came to was a bald headed guy with tattoos on his head. He said nothing but eyed her suspiciously as she cut him loose.

" Excuse me." She said as she used his shoulder for support to cut the other ropes. When he was free, he grunted and began to climb down.

Next was an elderly man who did everything he could to avoid eye contact with her as his face turned red. Shakily, he half climbed, half fell down the pole unceremoniously. Next was a brunette man with a star shaped hairstyle. He smirked at her and even winked flirtatiously at her, making her cut the ropes faster. This guy easily swung himself down with no problem. There was a shy looking young guy who when he saw her, fear quite evident in his eyes. He was caught by the elderly man and the star shaped man as he fell. There was a guy with salt and pepper hair and beard who was none-too-subtle about staring at her. She found this ironic considering he was the one with an axe in his head. But she offered a small smile to try to make the moment a little less awkward. He almost fell down too, but remembered muscle memory and slid down easily. The last one, a western looking guy with an Eskimo style hat, was quite the chatter box. He smiled at her nervously.

" Why hello there lady! Wish we could have met ye at a more comfortable situation. Heh heh. We seem to have no shortage of trouble this night. Or is it morning now?" He almost fell to the ground if it wasn't for his foot still being caught. His hat fell down as he swung there.

" Here." Alicia said stretching her hand down. " Give me your hand and I'll hold you till yer foots' free." It took two times and another silly face for him to reach her hand, but after woods, she cut his foot loose and swung him to a safer part of the ground.

He frantically searched for his hat and smiled a huge smile when he found it.

She sighed as she listened to everyone, grab their belongings, check for wounds, etc. The black haired man grumbled to Gandalf about no thanks going to their burglar and something about looking ahead to find this nice young lady, and looking behind to see the company in danger. She gingerly sauntered down, wandering if she should just charge for her services, or try to get along with these people.

Gandalf made the choice for her. " Lady Alicia, would you please come join us? I wish to introduce you all."

She saw how that dark-haired guy turned a sharp leer at the tall old man, but said nothing more than look suspicious and irritated as Alicia approached.

"Thorin Oakenshield, this is Alicia, a nomad whom I believe is from the same land as Lady Aimee." Gandalf smiled.

Aimee raised her head in interest.

"Really?" She asked. " Where are you from?"

"America." Alicia answered.

" Which state?"

" Texas."

"Texas? You sound European to me." Aimee half joked. Luckily Alicia did catch her slight country accent and replied with a smirk.

" Really? What kind of European? The country or your boots?"

"What?" Said the white haired man from before, clearly agitated about something.

Aimee giggled from her response.

" Yep. Definitely American."

The scarlet clad man shook his head.

"I fail to see how that really proved anything." He muttered as he walked off.

Gandalf was still very calm about everything.

"Come, there is a stream not too far. We can talk more while we rest there. And you can clean up a little better there Lady Alicia." He gestured to her face.

Confused, she wiped a hand across her face. It came back with smudges of dried snake blood. That explains a lot.

As they walked, the grey haired man gave her a critical eye. " Is that your blood on your face?"

Alicia shook her head. " No sir. I was hunting when Gandalf showed up. It's snake blood."

Aimee made a disgusted face, along with a few others that cast weird looks at Alicia. " Snake blood? You mean to tell me you just ate a raw snake?"

" ….Yes." Alicia answered calmingly, trying not to look embarrassed.

" Do you do that often?" Aimee asked, gripping the grey haired man's arm tighter as he guided her.

" No. Unless it's sushi. But in a sense it's just like sashimi." Alicia explained.

Aimee smiled. " Well, since you put it that way. It doesn't sound so bad anymore I suppose."

The curly haired man from earlier scratched his head. " And what is sushi or sas-shi-mi?"

" It's a delicacy created by middle eastern people of my world." Aimee answered. " Sushi is usually cooked fish wrapped with other foods like avocado or something stuffed in a rice ball. Sashimi however, is raw fish cut straight off the animal."

" Oh. How interesting." He answered. He caught Alicia watching him and offered a nervous smile. " My apologies Miss. I am Bilbo Baggins of the Shire."

" Nice to meet you Mr. Bilbo Baggins. I actually heard what you did to stall for time. Parasites was pretty quick thinking." Alicia complimented. At this, Bilbo visibly relaxed. " Thank you Miss. Though I certainly would not like to do that again."

Thorin clearly did not share the same open-mindedness as them, but he wasn't heartless. He fell in step next to Alicia.

"I thank you for your help in assisting us Lady Alicia. But I must ask why you are out here by yourself? Even for a nomad, traveling alone is dangerous."

" Yes sir. As I said, I was hunting, but then I ran into bunch of other enemies and had to run for it for a while to lose them. Unfortunately I also lost myself in the process." Alicia answered. There were a few dry chuckles.

" What other enemies?" Thorin inquired.

" A horde of zombies." Alicia said with a grimace.

" What is a zombie?' The leader asked. By the sound of Aimee's gasp, it wasn't good in the slightest.

Aimee shivered. " They are dead people who come back to eat the living. I am fortunate enough to be living in a reinforced city and didn't have to really worry about them. But I also heard Texas had a few red zones, or zones that have been completely taken over by zombies, and people have reverted to a martial law or even completely lawless in some places." She gulped. " Uh, your home didn't fall into a red zone did it?

" My original home, yes."

Aimee fidgeted. " I'm so sorry to hear that. Are you stealing other peoples' territories and blowing them up?"

" A terrorist? No. I'm not a terrorist." Alicia answered with no hint of irritation.

" Are you battling other people for weapons and supplies?"

" A marauder? No."

" Have you become an anthropophagus?"

Alicia blinked. " What does that even mean?"

The star headed guy snickered.

" Do you eat people?" Aimee corrected.

" No. I am most certainly not a cannibal. And to put those rumors at rest, I have not witnessed or seen evidence of cannibalism since I had to leave home, nor have anyone else I've talked to." Alicia straitened.

Aimee sighed. " Must be a Yankee thing then." She joked.

" That's cold." Alicia responded. Aimee laughed at the unintended pun.

The company had mixed emotions about this new discovery in their midst, but if Gandalf trusted her then maybe there wasn't too much to worry about then.

They did find the small stream and Alicia took full advantage of it

to wash off the blood and dirt from her face and hands. As her morbid image washed away, so did the weird faces and tension in the group. They were much more comfortable to see a normal looking young lady return to the camp. She offered the rest of the snake to share for lunch, but the current cook, Bombur, politely refused it.

" I've never had to cook with snake before." He said.

" Understood sir." Alicia answered. She looked around. " I can help get firewood then." With that, she walked to the woods. She came back with a large bundle of dried sticks later.

Some of the younger members, Fili and Kili went hunting for other game. Some went to find the ponies, which unfortunately only four were recovered. Over breakfast, Alicia learned everyone's names. They introduced themselves one by one with bows and polite smiles.

She learned that Aimee was from Oklahoma, and she accidentally showed up in Middle Earth too.

Alicia offered to help with whatever she could, which Thorin seemed a little less irritated with her for that. He seemed to always be mumbling to his friends or Gandalf about something.

It seemed that the company made it a point to see Aimee was as comfortable as possible.

Bifur placed a bowl in her arms. Bofur and Bilbo kept her company and Bombur offered to take her bowl when she was finished.

Alicia didn't want to offend or get yelled at by anyone, but she needed more information about how she was going to get to the next town. She scarfed down her food, helped clean up, then walked up to Gandalf and Thorin. She patiently waited until the two gave her their attention.

" Sorry to interrupt sirs, But I was wondering if I could borrow a map." Alicia asked.

Thorin nodded once and pointed to two others, the scarlet clad man and the bald headed man. " Those two have the map. If they are finished, I'm sure they would not mind if you looked at it."

" Thank you sir." Alicia thanked formerly and walked to join the other two. She did feel apprehensive of interrupting these two, Balin and Dwalin, they seemed to be in some disagreement. Again, she waited patiently for them to regard her with raised eyebrows.

" Hello sirs. Pardon the interruption. I was told that you had a map, and I was just going to ask if I could look at it when you're finished." She asked lamely.

Balin smiled kindly, " Of course lassie. Perhaps we could help you find whatever you're looking for." He motioned for her to sit.

Alicia sat on her knees across from them. She looked over at Dwalin's fists. " I admire your knuckle busters. Did you make them yourself?"

Dwalin looked warily at her. " Aye."

Awkward.

" Where are you trying to go to my lady?" Balin asked as he turned the map around for her.

Alicia peered at the parchment. " Really, I'm just trying to find out which way is the nearest town. Then maybe I can find my way back home from there."

" I see." Said Balin. " Well we are almost in the exact middle of the Shire and the elf city. Or there's Gondor here and Rohon here."

" I'm sorry, did you say elf city?" Alicia inquired.

The old dwarf sighed. " Aye, elf city. I wouldn't go near there if I had the choice, but depending on how desperate you are, then Rivendale may be the closest city from here."

Alicia watched their faces. " Have you been there? Are they rude people?"

Dwalin scoffed. "That's putting it nicely."

Balin pursed his lips, " Dwarves and elves here don't really get along very well. But a human usually has different luck. Perhaps you may find the help you need. But I wouldn't count on it."

" Dwarves?" Alicia echoed.

Balin smirked at her confusion with roguish eyes. " Aye. You know, those short fellows with long beards and a love for a strong drink and battle, very loud all the time and tend to have an unhealthy obsession for rare metals?"

The nomad's brows furrowed and she looked over her shoulder at Gloin and Oin arguing about the fire and Nori stealing a biscuit from Bofur.

Balin laughed aloud. Even Dwalin quietly chortled at the girl's face when she turned around and realized what just happened.

Alicia felt slightly offended by this, but she hid it well with a smile of her own and waited patiently for the two brothers to calm back down. "Please forgive my ignorance sir." She apologized awkwardly.

" Not to worry my lady." Balin answered waving it off. " Just a small jest is all." He said still smiling. " As for your first question. Rivendale is closer, but may I suggest the sleepy town of Lochrose? It's a small trader's village of mostly humans and hobbits. The people are usually friendly there."

" Sounds good to me." Alicia answered. " How long of a travel is it you think?"

Dwalin shrugged. " A month and a half, give or take."

Alicia's eyes widened for a moment, causing the gruff warrior to smirk.

" Okay then. Lochrose it is. Thank you Mr. Dwalin and Mr. Balin for your help." She looked over to Gandalf who was still talking with Thorin and now Bilbo as well and decided to confront Gandalf later. So she returned to her bag.

She took a drink of water, keeping to herself as she waited for a good time before the group decided to get as much travel in today as their weary bodies would allow, and if they made good time, then Thorin would allow them to sleep in a little longer tomorrow morning.

Aimee was guided to a pony to ride on. She tried to politely decline, but when Gandalf insisted, she argued no more. Ori held onto the pony's reigns and guided it along.

Alicia was also offered a pony, she tried not to laugh at the idea of riding the small horse with a group of relatively shorter men walking.

" No thank you sir." Alicia said kindly but firmly. " I just walk if it's all the same."

The dwarf who offered, Gloin, just shrugged. " Suit yourself lady. But the offer still stands if you do get tired."

Alicia didn't have much to say. Instead she just listened to the others. But she wasn't oblivious to the fact that she was being watched. After a while, she lost patients and decided to catch up to Gandalf at the head with Thorin.

" Excuse me Mr. Gandalf." Alicia asked next to him.

" Yes my dear. How may I help you?" The wizard smiled.

" Thank you for letting join you all for the time being. I've decided that a town called Lochrose would be a good place for me to go." Alicia informed. Thorin to her with a blank face. " So what, or which path would you recommend would be the best route for me to go?" She asked slightly nervously.

The wizard hummed to himself for a moment. He looked at Thorin, who seemed to know exactly what the wizard was thinking. The dwarf leader sighed.

" Lochrose is a descent trade town." Thorin answered. " It's more than a month's away from here by foot however. My company and I will be traveling in that general direction." He gave her one more suspicious look. " You may travel with us till we pass by that town if you'd like."

The wizard smiled, satisfied with that answer. Alicia smiled gratefully and thanked them both before falling to the back of the line again.

She felt a presence near her as the group passed by again.

She raised an eyebrow and smiled at Nori who gave her a smirk of his own. " And how fares our new lady?" He asked politely.

" I fair fine thanks for asking. How are you doing?"

Nori shrugged. " As good as the rest of us I suppose." He glanced up at her neck where a pair of goggles hung around it. " You have some interesting equipment there."

There was an exasperated sigh coming from the other white haired dwarf, Dori. " Everything that has some form of monetary value is interesting to you."

Alicia smirked knowingly at Nori, who rolled his eyes at his brother.

" You mean this? Don't be fooled by the shininess. It's not real silver. These are steampunk goggles I bought for a festival a long time ago. But since they also serve as protection from the sun and stuff getting in your eyes. I kept them." She played with one of the decorative thorns on it.

Nori looked at her oddly for a moment. " And what is steampunk? That doesn't even sound like it makes sense."

" It's a trend, or style that people from my world like a lot. It's a mixture of elegance and hardcore." Alicia explained. Nori nodded as if half listening. " If I find an extra pair, I'll get it for you." She said before realizing it.

Nori's eyes lit up at the offer. " Why thank you miss!" He said with a slight bow.

When Nori finished talking to her, she caught Bofur smiling at her next.

She smiled back. " And how are you Mr. Bifur?"

The hatted dwarf chuckled as he took off his hat and bowed low. " Quite well thank you! I'm Bofur at your service. Bifur's my cousin there."

" Oops. I'm sorry. I'm bad at names." Alicia said scratching the back of her head. But Bofur merely smiled.

" Nothing to worry about. We get ourselves confused sometimes. Someone would call for Bombur an' we'd both answer." Bofur joked.

" I wanted to say thank you for rescuing us again. " He lowered his voice. " Is it true what Miss Aimee said about your home?"

Alicia nodded. " Yes sir. It's not that way everywhere. Just some places."

Bofur looked sad for a moment. " An' yer home happens to be one of those places."

Alicia shrugged. " Ah, yes. But houses can be rebuilt, Along with cities and roads, etcetera. As long as I've got my loved ones and I am always able to find my loved ones a safe place when we need it, that's enough for me usually."

Bofur tilted his head. " That's a very selfless but heavy burden for one so young still." Alicia snorted. Luckily she thought better of telling him she once met a little boy who had to shoot his father's head after the father died.

The rest of the day went on like that. It was uneventful, the sun was out but a cold wind was blowing almost like a mid-autumn day. To the company it felt great outside. Aimee pulled a woven blanket Ori had given to her tighter around her shoulders as she chatted happily with whoever spoke to her.

The nomad smiled to herself when she heard Aimee ask if Alicia was still with them when Alicia stopped talking for a while.

The blind woman demonstrated how much more heightened her other senses were when she pointed out birds that no one noticed before, or the sounds of animals that some others seemed to have no mind of till she pointed them out.

Night came a little slower than usual today. Alicia once again offered help with whatever she could. Fili began to tease her, ' A lady shouldn't do things meant for a man.' when she used her hatchet to cut dead branches smaller, or tend to the ponies. Alicia enjoyed listening to the Ri brothers bicker. She looked around at how busy everyone was before approaching Thorin.

" Is there anything I can help with still?"

The leader looked at her and at his camp.

" We are merely waiting for dinner to cook now. Everything has been done. Thank you for your assistance."

"No problem." Now that everything was taken care of, Alicia decided to set out some small traps and go hunting a bit.

" Where are you off to Miss Alicia?" Bilbo asked as she passed by him with a small bag.

"I was going to lay out a few traps for small game, and maybe do a little hunting as I can." She explained.

Bilbo relaxed.

"Oh. Well, do be careful in the dark like that. Fili and Kili are out hunting as we speak."

"Yes sir." She answered and left.

She searched for places that may be animal trails and set a few string traps. She couldn't bring any snake back this time, seeing how the company reacted the first time. Alicia didn't have trouble with unusual diets of reptile and bugs when time got desperate. So she avoided that and looked for raccoon, rabbits or neutral-rat even. Mice may not be a good idea either, but she followed them to a nice berry bush, laying her jacket down and forming a large pile of berries in the middle to take back.

She was welcomed back to camp with the sounds of sneezing from the other lady who sat by the fire. Oin gave her a bowl of food.

"Are you feeling alright lass?" He asked.

"Oh yes." She answered. " Just a little cold is all."

"Well, this vegetable stew should fix that." The healer said.

She thanked the healer and began to eat. Alicia smiled proudly as she put the jacket full of berries in front of Bilbo and the others.

" I found blackberries."

Bilbo grinned happily as he took a handful.

"What a pleasant surprise, thank you Miss Alicia." The hobbit shared some with Aimee as well. Needless to say, the berries were sweet. It puzzled Alicia why not everyone would take some when there's plenty to go around.

She would get comments like, ' I don't eat elf fodder.', ' No thank you.', ' Not unless it's baked in a pastry.' Some took a few though.

Bifur on the other hand, took two handfuls when she offered some to him. The next moment he had a purple tongue and lips. Alicia enjoyed his company, even if she could only understand half the signs he made.

As Thorin began to assign watches, Alicia volunteered to be one of the first.

"Since I did get some sleep last night I'm not as tired. I don't mind watching with someone." She explained when Thorin raised his eyebrows at her.

He turned to one of the warriors.

"Dwalin. Take watch with Lady Alicia first. Next will be Dori and Bofur, then Gloin and I." He said after a moment. He nodded to Alicia before turning in.

Dwalin was not a talkative guy. He often glanced warily at Alicia during the shift too. However, Alicia took no offence, for she would be doing the same thing if he showed up in her colony all of a sudden. Vigilantly, she watched the whole night as the company made a chorus of snores.

After their shift, Dwalin stretched his arms and got up.

" We're finished for the night. Go wake Bofur and I'll get Dori up."

Alicia knelt beside said sleeping dwarf. His hat pulled over his eyes, arms flailed about and mouth slightly cracked. She hesitated on how to best wake him and watched how Dwalin woke up Dori, by shaking his shoulder. Alicia did the same thing to Bofur until the dwarf snorted awake. He blinked groggily at Alicia as his mind woke up, and then smiled upon realizing it's his turn.

Once Dori and Bofur got situated, Alicia returned to her sleeping bag and went to sleep.

Since the rest of the company did not have tents, Alicia kept hers zipped up and just slept with her sleeping bag and foam mat. Besides, if they're only staying there one night, it'd be a little pointless to set up a four person tent, even if Alicia was so practiced in setting hers up, It never took more than 20 minutes.


End file.
